Vending-machine.



- W. fi TEMPLEToN.

VENDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 31.4918.

1,293,979. Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

avwemtoz,

w. G. TEMPLETON. VENDING MACHINE.

APPLlCATlON FILED APR-11.15MB.

1,293,917. A, Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. G. TEMPLETON.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION' man APR. n. 1919.

Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

3 SHEEN-SHEET 3.

VENDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letterslatent. Patented Feb, 11, 1919 Application filed April 11, 1918. Serial No. 227,936.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. Tninrpn- TON, a citizen of the United States, residlng at Colorado Springs, in the county of El Paso and State of Colorado, have invented new and useful Vending-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vendlng machines designed for use in dispensing postage stamps, tickets, etc., from a rolled strlp, one of its objects being to provide simple and efficient mechanism of this character where by a predetermined length of the strlp ma terial can be quickly and accurately de livered.

Another object is to provide selective mechanism formed of few parts and in which the finger of the operator acts as a stop for limiting the movement of sald mechanism when it is set to deliver the selected length of strip material.

A further object is to prov de novel means for holding the strip materlal against retrograde movement during the setting of the selective means.

A still further object is to provide simple and eflicient means whereby proper engagement of the strip material by the selective and feeding means is insured.

Another object is to provide a cutter of novel form whereby the strip materlal can be severed accurately after the selected. length has been fed from the mach ne.

With the foregoing and other ob ects in view which will appear as the descrlption proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and polnted out in the claims, it being understood that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts w thout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown. V

In said drawings- Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section.

Fig; 4 is a front elevation, a portlon being broken away I Fig. 5 is a section on line 55, Flg. 3.

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of one of the selecting andfeeding devices.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the guide channels and showing a strip of material in position therein.

Fig. 8 is a section on line 88, Fig. 7. Fig. 9'is a section on line 9-9, Fig. 7 Referring to the figures by characters of reference, 1 designates the body of the machine, which'can be formed of a block of wood, and in one end of which may be provided one or more recesses 2 constituting receptacles for rolls of'strip material. In the present instance three of these recesses or receptacles are shown but it is to be understood that the number can be increased or reduced and that the width thereof can be varied to accommodate different widths of strip material.

Formed in the top of the body 1 and extending from the recesses 2 are parallel channels 3 across the front ends of which is extended a strip 4, or, if preferred, this strip can be an integral part of the body 1. Wear plates 5 are secured to the front face of this strip and their lower ends are extended inwardly within the front portions of the channels and are inclined upwardly, thus to constitute deflecting tongues, 6. Secured to the front or delivery end of the body 1 and extending transversely under and close to the delivery ends of the channels 2 is a stationary cutting blade 7 and slidably mounted on the end portions of this blade and upon the wear plates 5 is a movable cutting blade having a cutting edge 8 extending downwardly along diverging lines from the center thereof. This movable cutting blade 9 has longitudinally slotted side extensions 10 depending therefrom into which extend guide screws 11 which project into the end of the body 1. A stem 12 projects upwardly from the center of the blade 9 and is provided with a knob 13. A pin 14: extends downwardly from this knob and is slidably mounted in a recess in the top of the strip 4 and mounted on this pin is a spring 15 one end of which bears against the strip 4 while the other end bears against the knob, thus to hold the knob and the blade 9 normally elevated. When the parts are thuspositioned the cutting edge 8 of the blade 9 is elevated above the outside of the channels 3, as shown particularly in Fig. 4:. A face plate 16 can be secured to the front portion of the body thus to extend across the fixed and movable blades, this face plate being provided with" a transverse slot through which the ends of the channels 3 are exposed, said slot being shown at 17.

Detachably seated within each of the channels 3 is a guide strip 18 which has been illustrated in detail in Figs. 7 8 and 9. Each strip is provided with inturned side flanges 19 thus to form a channel which is of uniform width except at its ends where the channel is flared slightly as shown at 20. The width of the channel, except at its flared end portions, is slightly less than the width of the strip material S used in the machine. Thus it will be seen that. the strip material can enter one end of the channel perfectly flat, as shown in Fig. 9 but will buckle transversely where it passes through the greater portion of the channel, see Fig. 8, thus becoming stiffened in the direction of its length and leaving a space between the strip material and the bottom of the channel. The channel or guide strips 18 are held againstlongitudinal displacement by pins 21 depending therefrom and which project into recesses in the bottoms of the grooves or channels 3. When these guide strips are in position their forward or discharge ends are extended under the tongues 6 and lie close to the inner side of the stationary blade 10 while their rear ends lie close to the recesses 2.

Mounted on the body 1 and limited in their forward movement by the strip 1, are slides 22 constituting combined selective and feeding means. Each of these slides has a channeled portion 23 projecting into one of the grooves 3 and extending close to but out of contact with the fianges of the guide strips 18. A pivot pin 24 is extendedtransversely of the channel in each slide and mounted on each pin is a group of thin dogs 25 having pointed terminals or prongs 26 disposed under the front end of the slide and normally projecting into the space between the flanges of the guide strip 18 thereunder. A longitudinal series of finger receiving recesses 27 is formed in the top face of each slide and on the bottoms of the recesses may be printed or otherwise displayed numerals indicating different values. For example where the machine is used for dispensing one cent. two cent and three cent stamps, the recesses in one of the slides will contain the numerals;1, 2, 3, e*tc., indicating the value of one, two or three stamps, the re cess farthest removed from the discharge end of the machine being designated by the numeral of smallest value. The recessesin another slide will contain the numerals 2, 4t, 6, etc., indicatingthe value of one, two, three, etc, stamps of the two cent denomination, while the recesses inthe other slide will contain the numerals 3, 6, 9, etc., as indicating the values of one, two, three, etc., three cent stamps. In every instance the value of the numerals increases in proportion to the distance of the numerals from the rear end of the slide.

A cover 28 is connected to the rear portion of the body 1 and when secured in closed position, fully protects the contents of the recesses 2. A stop plate 29 is hingedly connected to: the bottom of the cover, it being understood that the cover is so elevated and shapedthat under'ordr nary conditions :the slides 22::can move backwardly thereunder. l/Vhenthe plate 29 is at its -lowest :position :on the cover, where it is supportedbyuan angnlarflange 30 811'? gaging the cover, it acts aswa stoplforwpre venting the slides from moving under. the cover 28.. Byliftingthestopplate, however, said slides can be' moved backwardly to set positions under ..=the cover. .A pint 31 can be :revolubly mountedron'theacover and provided with a ulugi82- which :rcan be brought 'to position either under or over the edge ofithe flange 30 ofsthe plate, thus to hold the plate either elevated. .outvof active position, or lowered in looking. position.

For the purposeoof "adjusting the. slides 22 so as to stop themein itllGll'wfOlWttI'Cl movementnwith the points 2(j1z0f the dogs 25 any desired distance from the cutting blades, screws 33 are extended into; the

front ends of said slides andiare movable.

the' cover 28 and the: :points :26. of the dogs 25 aresupported by the strip S, said.- points being positioned on the second stamp in:eac11. strip or, inothervwordspback of theufirst transverse row ofaperfor'ationsain thestrip S. Accidental backward. 'movementv'xof the slides :is prevented by ,the i'stop plate'29. Shouldit be desired to VGIId thI'BG'OIlB-KZBIE. stamps,the operator places one fingerinithe recess containing the number '3 carried by the slide used for vending one-centstamps. The flanged end of plate 29-is then raised and the slide is moved back underthe cover 28-unti1the'finger located. inthe recess comes against the cover, thus preventingvfurther sliding movement. During this. movement of the slide the points 26z of the dogs are dragged rearwardly over the strip material until they arrive on the fourth stamp from the end or back of the third line of perforations. As the strip material is arched trans-' versely its edges press laterally against the flanges of the strips 18, gripping them with sufficient pressure to prevent the strip material from sliding rearwardly with the dogs. As soon as the slide has been set in the manner described it can be slid forwardly to its initial position. This will cause the points 26 on the dogs to slide forwardly until they reach the line of perforations nearest thereto, whereupon the points of some of the dogs will drop into one or more of the perforations with the result that during the remainder of the return movement of the slide, the strip material S will move therewith and the selected number of stamps will be projected beyond the discharge end of the strip 18. By striking downwardly on the knob 13 the cutting blades will be caused to sever the strip material along the line of perforations selected. The vending of the strip material can be accurately gaged relative to the cutting mechanism by adjusting the screw 33 in the end of the slide. Obviously all of the slides can be operated in the manner just described and by placing the operating finger in a recess representing the desired number of stamps of the selected denomination, the proper number of stamps will be accurately delivcred.

It will be understood that the capacity of the machine can be varied and instead of having one row of stamps or the like in each strip, said strip can contain two or more rows of stamps, etc.

While the device is particularly designed for vending postage stamps it will also be found advantageous for vending tickets, and for like purposes.

WVhat is claimed is 1. A vending machine including means for supporting strip material, combined selecting and feeding means slidably mounted thereabove and having finger receiving recesses, means in the path of a finger inserted in a recess, for limiting the movement of said slidable means in one direction, and means carried by said slidable means for engaging and shifting the strip material when said slidable means is moved in the opposite direction.

2. A vending machine including means for supporting strip material, a slidable element thereabove having finger receiving recesses, means cooperating with a finger inserted into a recess for limiting the movement of said element in one direction and means carried by said element for moving the strip material in the opposite direction.

3. In a vending machine a rigid guide for holding strip material arched transversely, said material engaging the guide solely along its side edges, and means for engaging the convex surface of the arched material and shifting the material in the direction of its length to drag upon the sides of the guide.

4. In a vending machine a rigid guide having a channel for holding strip material, the channel, except at its ends, being narrower than the strip material thereby to hold the material arched transversely and out of contact, except at its edges, with the guide, the ends of the guide being flared or widened thereby gradually to arch the strip material when drawn into the guide.

5. In a vending machine a container for a roll of strip material, a rigid guide extending therefrom and having a channel the width of which is less than that of the strip material, said material being held bowed transversely and engaging the guide solely at its side edges, and slidable means supported by and engaging the convex face of the strip material for feeding said material longitudinally to drag upon the sides of the guide channel.

6. In a vending machine a receptacle for a roll of material, a movable cover for said receptacle, cutting mechanism, a slide between the cutting mechanism and the cover having finger receiving recesses, means on the slide for engaging and feeding strip material when the slide is moved toward the cutting mechanism, said slide being movable in the opposite direction under the cover until the finger in the recess comes against the cover, and means on the cover for holding the slide against movement.

7. In a vending machine the combination with a guide, and means for feeding strip material along the guide, of a stationary cutting blade extending transversely under the delivery end of the guide, a movable blade cooperating therewith and having a cutting edge extending along lines diverging downwardly from the center of the edge,

slotted extensions at the sides of the movable blade bearing on the end portions of the fixed blade, guiding devices extending through the slots, a knob upon the movable blade, and a yielding support for the knob and blade.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM G. TEMPLETON.

Witnesses:

IvY E. SIMPSON, HERBERT D. LAWSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0." 

